NCC renews MTN’s license

The Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) has extended MTN Group’s operating license, the company said on Tuesday, quelling fears that Africa’s biggest mobile phone firm would have to pay a $5.2 billion fine before the license could be renewed.

Johannesburg-based MTN is in talks with theFederal Government about the fine, imposed on its unit in Nigeria for failing to cut off more than 5 million users with unregistered SIM cards, Reuters reported.

Nigeria has been pushing operators to verify the identity of their subscribers, on concerns that unregistered SIM cards were being used for criminal activity in a country facing an insurgency from the Boko Haram sect.

“We view this extension as a demonstration of confidence in MTN’s capacity to continue to provide ground-breaking and innovative services to its customers,” Reuters quoted MTN corporate affairs executive, Akinwale Goodluck, as saying in a statement.